Nagi had also arrived at the entrance.
"You guys are here."
"How could we not come to a birthday party?"
After saying that, Yukiji glanced sideways at her younger sister.
"Besides, with my sister's personality, how could she not show up?"
"Yukiji is as greedy as ever. I've long since gotten used to her coming to eat and drink for free, but this time, it's a birthday party. There's no alcohol—only soft drinks at best."
"Hey…"
Yukiji looked completely deflated after hearing that. She had already given up.
Asakaze Risa took this opportunity to nudge Yukiji aside, her eyes practically glowing with the word gossip.
"So, Nagi-chan, you transferred schools because of a guy?"
After hearing that, Nagi's expression didn't change at all. She simply raised her eyes and looked at Asakaze Risa with a flat expression.
"I'm thirteen years old."
That calm statement made Asakaze Risa instantly back off.
The age issue really was a problem. No matter how you looked at it, that age wouldn't allow anyone to entertain wild fantasies.
"There were reasons for my transfer, but it definitely wasn't the ridiculous one you just mentioned."
Well, the real reason was even more ridiculous.
Nagi silently added that in her heart.
"Nagi-chan, can you at least tell us why you transferred?" asked Segawa Izumi curiously.
"Nope. Some things just aren't for casual conversation."
"Ehh, stingy~"
Being rejected, Izumi puffed up her cheeks.
She really wanted to find out what happened with Nagi, but Nagi was surprisingly tight-lipped. There wasn't a single clue to go off of.
"This isn't a trivial matter."
Nagi completely ignored Segawa Izumi's sulky reaction. Her pouty face only made others want to tease her more.
"Some things are secrets precisely because they can't be told. If they can be told, then they aren't really secrets, are they?"
She would absolutely never tell anyone anything related to the Mystery, unless they happened to stumble into it themselves.
Suddenly, Sakuya's voice carried in on the wind.
Sanzenin Nagi subtly glanced toward Kasumi Aika.
At the moment, she could only hear—she didn't have Amamiya Ren's ability to perceive someone's condition at a glance. But she could at least use the wind to eavesdrop on conversations carried by it.
The only issue was her lack of medical knowledge. If she had that, she might be able to judge Aika's condition more accurately.
"But if you can discover things on your own, I don't mind."
"Oh~?"
Asakaze Risa narrowed her eyes slightly.
"Are you provoking us? Fine, we accept your challenge! I officially declare that we will uncover all of your secrets!"
She was now fully invested in uncovering the secret that Nagi was trying so hard to hide.
Her sixth sense as a girl was screaming. She had a feeling the truth behind Nagi was even more mind-blowing than they imagined.
That was probably why Nagi was acting so confidently and didn't seem concerned about their snooping.
Nagi wasn't fazed by Risa's declaration at all.
"That's if you can manage to do it."
After dealing with Risa's provocation, Nagi turned her attention to Katsura Hinagiku.
"Hinagiku, want to take a guess why I transferred schools?"
"Umm…"
Being directly addressed, Hinagiku looked a little troubled.
Of course she was curious about what secrets Nagi might be hiding, but Nagi hadn't given her any useful clues to go on.
"Even though I'd really like to know what happened, I honestly can't figure it out right now."
Then, Hinagiku looked past Nagi, toward the boy who was talking with Aizawa Sakuya in the distance.
"What we do know is that there's something special about that person, which is why both you and Isumi transferred to the same school."
"And from what I observed, the gift Miss Aizawa just received was a ladies' watch—not something that matches her status. But she looked unusually happy. So the question is, was she happy because of the gift, or because of who gave it?"
After listening to Hinagiku's analysis, Nagi wasn't particularly surprised.
She had already seen too many unusual things about that person. Hinagiku's deduction was just further evidence of her frighteningly sharp instincts.
It was no coincidence she was chosen as the Student Council President of Hakuo. Whether it was intelligence or execution, she was practically a monster.
"We might be able to get some information out of Miss Aizawa, but I doubt she'll tell us anything easily."
"We already know who the problem revolves around. But why would I let you help cover it up? That's the first question."
"The reason I can't tell you—that's the second question."
"And the reason you shouldn't know—that's the third question."
Clearly, these are problems that need solving.
Katsura Hinagiku understood well: to uncover the truth hidden behind Nagi, she'd need to clarify all three points.
If they couldn't figure those out, it'd be almost impossible to understand what had really happened with Nagi.
"I'm letting you guess because it's hard to guess. And I've already made some guesses of my own."
The diaries would be distributed to important characters in the story. This was a rule confirmed by the past two experiences.
She remembered Ren once saying that Katsura Hinagiku was the most popular character in the story—even more so than her, the heroine.
As an important character, would Hinagiku also get a diary in the future?
Nagi couldn't help but feel a bit curious.
"Come in. Let me introduce you to my friends."
With anticipation, Nagi led everyone into the room.
Everyone at the door glanced at each other. This was all so mysterious that their curiosity only grew stronger.
(To be continued.)
***
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